Laffon-Parias To Retire At The End Of 2024

Carlos Laffon-Parias, the first Spanish trainer to win the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, announced on Wednesday that he will retire from training at the end of the year.

Based in Chantilly, Laffon-Parias is best known as the trainer of Solemia (Ire) (Poliglote {GB}), who caused an upset when beating leading Japanese hope Orfevre (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) in the 2012 running of Europe's premier middle-distance race. He also won the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on the same card with Silasol (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}), while the likes of Laverock (Ire) (Octagonal {NZ}), Falco (Pivotal {GB}) and Recoletos (Fr) (Whipper) were other top-level winners for their trainer during a career in France spanning more than three decades.

In 2023, Laffon-Parias saddled two new Group 1 winners, including Prix de la Foret heroine Kelina (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) who, the trainer confirmed, will race on as a four-year-old as he prepares to embark on his final season.

Explaining his decision to retire, Laffon-Parias told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, “The last three years I've talked with my wife regarding the decision to stop and go back home [to Spain]. My sons are now working and have left the house, so it's time for me and my wife to change our lives.

“I'm healthy, I'll be 61 next month. I think when you're healthy is the right time to do it. I've worked all my life from Monday to Sunday and I want to do other things rather than to work 11 months a year, every single day. I think it's the right time to do it, otherwise it might be too late.

“I see a lot of trainers finish their careers because they haven't got any more horses to train or they have financial problems. I don't want to have those problems. I want to stop and I don't need much to live with. We've got a house already in the south of Spain, I'm going to sell my yard, and this is enough for me and my wife.”

Laffon-Parias added of Kelina, “The Wertheimer Brothers have decided to keep her in training and she's a very sound filly. There isn't a race for her until May 1, the Prix du Muguet. That is a Group 2 and then there is Royal Ascot or the Falmouth. We could run in the Lockinge against the colts, but I would prefer to take more time. There are a lot of races for her, but nothing before the middle of the year.”

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Kelina Caps Red Letter Day For Frankel In The Foret

A successful ParisLongchamp au revoir for Frankie was denied in Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret, with his beloved Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) losing out by half a length to the Wertheimers' fellow TDN Rising Star Kelina (Ire) (Frankel {GB}–Incahoots {GB}, by Oasis Dream {GB}) who put the cherry on the cake for her sire who both directly and indirectly dominated the Arc.

Unplaced twice since beating the G1 Prix du Moulin heroine Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) decisively in the G2 Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly in June, the 28-1 shot was always travelling strongly for Maxime Guyon under cover in touch with the pace.

Going better than Kinross once the cut-away was reached in the straight, the Carlos Laffon-Parias-trained homebred drifted across that 3-5 favourite's path 100 metres from the post which was to prompt an inquiry and some anxious moments for connections. Momentarily checked, Frankie had conjured a strong rally from last year's winner to narrow the winning margin but the stewards ultimately ruled that Kelina was value for the win and allowed her to keep it. The G1 Haydock Sprint Cup runner-up Shouldvebeenaring (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) was 1 1/4 lengths away in third.

Kelina, who had approached this card's G1 Prix Marcel Boussac in 2022 unbeaten and started as the 21-10 favourite only to finish last, had looked to have put that behind her when fourth in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and when dominant in the Sandringham. Beating only one home in Deauville's G1 Prix Rothschild and in the G1 Prix du Moulin here last month, she was one that it seemed safe to ignore on the pari-mutuel but Laffon-Parias had always retained faith.

“Last time she came here she didn't run well and we didn't really have an explanation, but the soft ground was obviously not in her favour,” he said. “She didn't have a very good draw in the Moulin and we were going to wait with her, but she just didn't run her race and that allowed her to come here today fresh. We had been invited to go to Keeneland for the Queen Elizabeth II and accepted, but then we made the decision to come here so we are pleased we made the right choice.”

Racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau stated that the GI Breeders' Cup Mile is on the minds of her owner-breeders. “She could tackle that and she could stay in training next year if Carlos thinks she is in the right condition.”

Despite the interference to Kinross, his trainer Ralph Beckett was refusing to accept that it had cost him the race. “We were second best on the day and that's it. We weren't good enough,” he said.

Middleham Park Racing's Tom Palin was delighted with the effort of Shouldvebeenaring and said, “He's a wonderful horse who always gives his best and yet again ran very well. He's really a 1200-metres horse and he got jostled at the start before getting back on an even keel. This may be the last time that he encounters good ground this year, but the Breeders' Cup is also a possibility. Several stud farms have tabled offers to stand him as a stallion.”

 

Pedigree Notes

Kelina's listed-winning dam Incahoots, who is also responsible for the Listed Prix Petite Etoile runner-up Ansilia (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), cost the operation 420,000gns at the 2015 Tatts December Sale. A full-sister to the dual listed-winning and G3 Prix de Lieurey-placed Dream Clover (GB), her G3 Prix de Flore-winning dam In Clover (GB) (Inchinor {GB}) produced two Group 1 winners at this meeting in Frankel's Prix du Cadran hero Call The Wind (GB) and Prix de l'Opera scorer We Are (Ire).

In Clover also threw another high-class Dansili in With You (GB), heroine of the G1 Prix Rothschild, and is also the second dam of last year's G1 Prix Saint-Alary third Queen Trezy (Fr) (Almanzor {Fr}) and the third dam of the recent G2 Prix de Malleret-placed Yorokobi (Fr) (Camelot {GB}). She hails from the family of the G1 Prix Jean Romanet heroine Aristia (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and the G1 Hong Kong Vase winner Dominant (Ire) (Cacique {Ire}). Incahoots also has the winner's once-raced 2-year-old stablemate and half-brother Kahoot (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), a yearling full-brother to Kelina named Kindleo (GB) and a colt foal by the same sire again named Epicurien (GB).

 

 

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX DE LA FORET-G1, €350,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-1, 3yo/up, 7fT, 1:17.17, g/s.
1–KELINA (IRE), 127, f, 3, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Incahoots (GB) (SW-Fr), by Oasis Dream (GB)
2nd Dam: In Clover (GB), by Inchinor (GB)
3rd Dam: Bellarida (Fr), by Bellypha (Ire)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Wertheimer & Frere (IRE); T-Carlos Laffon-Parias; J-Maxime Guyon. *1/2 to Ansilia (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), SP-Fr. €199,990. Lifetime Record: 9-4-1-0, €342,995. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Kinross (GB), 128, g, 6, Kingman (GB)–Ceilidh House (GB), by Selkirk. O-Marc Chan; B-Lawn Stud (GB); T-Ralph Beckett. €80,010.
3–Shouldvebeenaring (GB), 126, c, 3, Havana Grey (GB)–Lady Estella (Ire), by Equiano (Fr). (£40,000 Ylg '21 GOFFUK). O-Middleham Park Racing XVIII; B-Whitsbury Manor Stud (GB); T-Richard Hannon. €40,005.
Margins: HF, 1 1/4, 1HF. Odds: 27.80, 0.60, 35.00.
Also Ran: Pogo (Ire), King Gold (Fr), Exxtra (Fr), Happy Romance (Ire), Sauterne (Fr), National Service (Fr), Breizh Sky (Fr), Topgear (Fr), Fang (Fr), Cachet (Ire), Dabawa (Fr). Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Deauville: Rothschild Heads August Festival Opener

Deauville's month-long racing fest is back upon us on Sunday, with the G1 Prix Rothschild the key event on a talent-packed card. British and Irish interests always excel at this meeting, so the first port of call must be the reinvented miler Rogue Millennium (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) who was able to transfer the scintillating speed she had shown over middle distances of late to this trip in Royal Ascot's G2 Duke of Cambridge S. The pride and joy of Tom Clover's stable may have found an ideal opportunity to garner one of these precious contests with the big cats playing elsewhere.

“She travels so well and it is hard to have a horse to take her far enough through her races,” Clover said. “We won over a mile, so it makes sense to stay at a mile. Obviously it was a fantastic day at Ascot and one we will always remember, but let's hope we can continue on the path we've been going on. She seems well and has been since Ascot and hopefully we have some luck.”

Also from England is Wathnan Racing's G1 Coronation S. and G1 Falmouth S. runner-up Remarquee (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who has the edge over the Jessie Harrington challenger Sounds Of Heaven (GB) (Kingman {GB}) on the Coronation form, while France's best chance of keeping this at home could rest with the Wertheimers' TDN Rising Star Kelina (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). She beat the subsequent shock G1 Prix Jean Prat heroine Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) in Chantilly's G2 Prix de Sandringham last time and is only going one way at present.

Richard Brown, racing adviser to Wathnan, said of Remarquee, “We are conscious it is her third run in a fairly short space of time, but we are going to give her a break next, win, lose or draw. She has come out of Newmarket in great form. She's still quite green and still learning her job. She came up against Nashwa at her best last time and that is a hard task for any filly.”

An Elite Cabourg…
In the fixture's G3 Prix de Cabourg, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's Listed National S.-winning sensation Elite Status (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) goes up to six furlongs for the first time having been found out for sharpness in Royal Ascot's G2 Norfolk S. Bad news for him is he has White Birch Farm's TDN Rising Star Havana Cigar (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) lying in wait having entered the leading juvenile conversation when dynamic at Chantilly at the start of the month. Then there is the Fabre unknown in Prince Faisal's Saint-Cloud scorer Sajir (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), who follows in the steps of the likes of Zamindar, Xaar (GB) and Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal). François Boutin still holds the record of nine wins in this important staging post, but one more for Fabre and it will be shared.

Sunday's Support…
Also at Deauville, the seven-furlong G3 Prix Six Perfections Sky Sports Racing for 2-year-old fillies features Gousserie Racing and Jean-Etienne Dubois's Classic Flower (GB) (Calyx {GB}), who will give further evidence in the ongoing investigation into the true merit of TDN Rising Star Ramatuelle (Justify) who thrashed her in the G2 Prix Robert Papin. Fabre saddles a granddaughter of Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa) for Juddmonte here in the Chantilly winner Cavalletti (GB) (Kingman {GB}), while Ecurie des Charmes' impressive Compiegne debut winner Minoushka (GB) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) could be another big name for the Lerners. Munich's G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis sees Liberty Racing's G1 Deutsches Derby hero Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) take on Godolphin's GI Saratoga Derby winner Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) who is back in Europe after his third from a horror draw in the Mar. 25 G1 Dubai Turf.

 

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Frankel’s Kelina Takes The Sandringham

Providing a boost to the form of the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in which she was fourth last month, the Wertheimers' TDN Rising Star Kelina (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was in command in Sunday's G2 Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly. Tracking Zarinsk (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) in second throughout the early stages, the Carlos Laffon-Parias-trained 10-3 shot overwhelmed that rival 1 1/2 furlongs out before surging to an impressive two-length success from the Pouliches third Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}).

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